Salina Christmas

The Kekar Malindo (Keris Kartika Malaysia Indonesia) bilateral military exercise began in 1976 as a result of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Border Committee conference in 1972 in Indonesia. Kekar Malindo is organised not only to increase the level of professionalism of the military personnel in the two countries. It is also crucial in strengthening the military alliance between Malaysia and Indonesia. The reference to the keris and the kartika blade also implied the cultural and spiritual significance of the two weapons in the Malay and Javanese worlds. The kartika is a crescent-shaped knife that can also symbolise the severance of ignorance (“cutting through demons”) in Buddhist tradition.